When the central Florida Theme parks reopen and travel returns to normal...

[MickeyWaffles]

We will likely not go to place like WDW until there is a vaccine, or coronavirus magically goes away (extremely unlikely.)

My son is potentially high risk and we won’t take any chances. A place as vast and crowded as WDW packed full with travelers from all over the US & beyond will not be in the cards for us if coronavirus is still spreading. Perhaps we will be able take a road trip to my parents’ beach home next year. I don’t see us feeling comfortable going to WDW until 2022. I’m just happy we were able to do our 1/31 trip this year before all this exploded.

We plan to skip our next trip (which would be in early 2021) bank our 2020/21 DVC points and travel to WDW in 2022 (I hope!) But, it really depends on what the outlook is like at that point.

I don’t think the parks will open until fall at the earliest. They can’t open if they’ll be putting CMs & guests at risk. Time will tell, but I know we won’t be there anytime close to the reopening.

 

[marcoi]

i just moved my October trip to January with anticipating its going to be closed until the first of the year, i did it now so at least i have it booked. if you wait everything will be taken. at that I'm still wishful thinking. all we can do is pray. hope everyone stays safe

 

[Paul1955]

Looking at Disney's movie release dates may give us some idea when Disney thinks things may get somewhat back to normal. This gives an indication of when Disney hopes for at least movie theaters to get back to operations. Mulan was originally scheduled for March 27th is now July 24th, and Jungle Cruise that was originally scheduled for this July is now scheduled for July 2021.

 

[James Cooper]

I have a trip for scheduled in the first week of September . I am going to wait and see what develops between now and then

 

[Frogman88]

I don’t know about two years but I don’t think June 1st is realistic either. With 50 states all doing during things...I think some will be on the downhill or be close to done by then but not all of us.

It takes almost 18 months to even approve a vaccine then that means it will be minimum 2yrs+ And that’s if this thing does t decide to resurge and mutate not in our favor

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Yes if not longer.

the most important fact is that no one knows the real facts some how everyone overnight became some expert on novel viruses or think it’s just the flu lol this is engineered and the numbers and the “facts” that only the old or weak die is amusing people believe anything coming from communist China that expelled every foreign journalist.

if they struggled in past with pandemic viruses and yet with all this technology we can’t seem contain it speaks volumes. They engineered a specific strain of corona that every immune systems is vulnerable since we already have it in our system from Vaccines.

Yes, as I alluded to earlier, Johnson and Johnson, who have been working on the vaccine since January of this year, announced they should have something for "emergency use" by early 2021 (lending credence to our 12 months, and maybe a bit more, but let's hope not). And, as I also said earlier, this is RECORD time for a vaccine, and I have not seen anywhere that "emergency use" is defined.

Won't enter into a discussion about whether there will be a resurgence, another strain, or anything along those lines, as NONE of us knows at this point, not even the experts. It is a NOVEL Corona Virus, and MUCH is unknown.

But - at the end of the day - I'd rather TRY to stay POSITIVE, if at all rational and possible, than spread the fire of fear.

 

[Von Westy]

I believe Disney will play reopening parks/attractions with extreme caution. They cannot afford to have an outbreak due to impatience. I'm sure their legal and finance teams are thinking about a number of scenarios and creating playbooks on how they reopen. They should consult with CDC/WHO on guidelines for reopening. I could see them opening parks/attractions to Florida residences only. I could also see them implementing some kind of lottery or number system to throttle the number of park guests, as well as augment Fastpass to reduce the number of people huddled together in queues. You may see a 30-40% functionality at first, and it would not surprise me to see them open on odd/even days to compensate for the extra cleaning efforts that they will implement as precautions.

There was an article today that Bob Iger mentioned about testing at the parks before letting guests in. I think that's kind of a mixed bag depending on the testing method(s) used.

 

[L&Lfan]

1st year... we are booked at Universal Orlando in October and WDW in December.

 

[PamNC]

I don't think it'll be 2 years by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think the parks will open in any "normal" type of capacity for at least the rest of the year. But, I agree with Pete - I think they will reopen in June.

 

[Wild4Walt]

If I was a local, I'd feel comfortable planning on going the 1st week it reopened. It's Disney, they will control the variables as much as possible, and as we have seen, if they can't they own it and do what's needed.

 

[PulsarIII]

I voted "first year" but what I really meant was "until there's a readily available vaccine."

First off I would like to apologize for being late responding to your post.
You were the first to bring up “....a readily available vaccine”, which would have been nice had I not got stuck in a loop with the 1st & Never polling concept. That’s why there is always an OTHER option, because I know I will always leave out the obvious. Looks like I’ll be taking the “chick’n” exit on this one.

G’day
III

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Well, as my signature would suggest, we're currently planning on going in July. While I'm hoping this happens, my gut is saying it probably won't. I don't trust any of the figures coming out from the source of this virus, and Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo still being closed leads me to believe that it could be a while before the US parks open. So, I said within the next year, because I'm not very optimistic about this July trip and I'm thinking (assuming things are a go by then) that I'd like to run the spring Star Wars races at WDW.

 

[bakerworld]

This morning I went to grab 2 nights for our November post cruise and in the time it took the clock to high 8a the only studios available were SSR.

 

[Plaid Sabbath]

Think back to the days before COVID19. Remember how many times people would get sick after a Disney resort trip or cruise? Lots of folks would get the "Disney crud".

Now...think about how many surfaces get touched on a typical day in the parks, resorts and ships. Add to that a pandemic with a dangerous virus. Then, factor in the cut-backs in staffing. Will there be enough workers to handle all of the extra cleaning/disinfecting?

As far as testing all the guest upon park entry is concerned, that really won't help at all. Let's say a person is flagged with a high temp or some other symptoms. Now what? A person carrying the virus now has to go back to their home or resort. How many people will now be infected? What if that same person goes to a restaurant? All the staff and patrons are now at risk. Send that same person back to the airport...it spreads even more. On and on it goes. What exactly should be done if people pop a positive test while at WDW? Lock them in their hotel room? Disney's Magical Covid Quarantine Clinic?

Sorry folks, but opening the parks without a vaccine will be a very bad idea. As far as arbitrary dates....May 15th, June 1st, July 1st, etc... is just silly. The virus will dictate the timeline.

We cancelled our July 11th trip. In fact, we cancelled on March 17th. We try to get down to WDW at least once per year, but I highly doubt we'll set foot on property until 2022. No vaccine, no trips.

 

[Nox]

I answered "other" because it's going to depend on when they reopen.

I have plans for July 9-11.
I also want to go to F&W, but I always go the second week of September.
If they aren't open for either of those events, then it'll be sometime next year before I go, simply because those are the specific times I want to go.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I voted first day. Technically, that wouldn't be possible because I live right outside of Philadelphia and may not be able to get there. But that is what I would be comfortable with.

I do believe Disney will do everything they can to make the Parks and Resorts as safe and clean as possible. Also, from a Disney History perspective, the first day opening will be a somewhat significant event.

If we assume the Parks open June 1st, I am really interested to see how busy the Parks will be, and what the willingness/ability to travel is going to be. My plan as of now is to plan a quick last minute (perhaps three full calendar days in the Park) trip very shortly after re-opening.

 

[Carolrita]

No one listen to me before so I’ll try again maybe you listen now. My vote is other I think it will be 2+ yrs


I hope you Disney addicts are prepared for a very long closure. The fact that other countries are not reporting the TRUE numbers means it will be years before it’s business as usual. I hope people didn’t get too attached to the system that was in place before.

This is only the beginning I hope you are preparing I hope your praying.

I don’t think we can necessarily plan for this, or what’s ahead...but I sure am praying more than ever. I hope we all are. Stay well.

 

[crazymomof4]

I have a trip planned (and paid for- DVC points rental- no changes or refunds) for mid-Sept. Reading all that I can about WDW plans for re-opening.

 

[PulsarIII]

At last some news for central Florida parks and other attractions are reaching phase 1 of reopening. It seem like it may take a while before getting back to normal or the NEW normal. UOR will start with a partial opening of Citwalk. Not much, but at least it’s a start. WDW has not come forward with any official information yet, but there is already a leak in that dam and they will need to announce something soon. With the state ready to “reopen” and Orange County’s position on the “Large Park Resorts” to use their own best practices that meet Federal and State requirements there may be a lot more about how much and when things will be happening released soon.

The “offsite” parks like Fun Spot, ICON-whatever it’s called this month and many others seem to be ready to jump back into business, but in that new-norm world. Hopefully by late summer the parks will have reached a point that vacationing in Central Florida will be more of a typical and less of a, it just doesn’t feel right vacation.

G’day
III

 

[DisneyKevin]

For folks waiting for a vaccine... nothing is guaranteed.

They’ve been looking for a HIV vaccine for 40 years.